G-20 summit leaders refused to assist the U.S. when they rejected a U.S. proposal to set limits on trade surpluses and deficits, and also turned down a U.S. effort to force China to raise the value of its currency.
Essentially, that left the administration --along with American workers, families and businesses-- to shoulder the challenge and the likely pain of trying to solve the nation's economic problems on its own.

" Obama is now in a position where he must be prepared to act unilaterally to reduce the trade deficit and to shore up U.S. industrial and technological competitiveness or risk losing not only the presidency in two years, but also the American dream," said Clyde Prestowitz, a former Reagan administration trade negotiator and now president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington.

SEOUL --President Obamas hopes of emerging from his Asia trip with the twin victories of a free trade agreement with South Korea and a unified approach to spurring global economic growth ran into resistance on all fronts yesterday, putting Obama at odds with his key allies and largest trading partners.
---------------
After five largely harmonious meetings in the past two years to deal with the most severe downturn since the Depression, major disputes broke out between Washington and China, Britain, Germany, and Brazil. Each rejected core elements of Obamas strategy of stimulating growth before focusing on deficit reduction.

full story:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/11/12/us_south_korea_trade_accord_not_a_done_deal/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angela Merkel of Germany to Obama: It is the job of deficit countries [United States and Britain] to increase their competitiveness rather than put limits on countries [most of the rest of 18 members] that had figured out how to get the world to buy their goods.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merkel wins trade surplus duel with Obama at G20
12.Nov.2010
DW-world.De

Exporters like Germany and China have won through in a battle of wills with President Barack Obama. The cap on trade surpluses and deficits desired by the US will not be imposed at Seoul's G20 summit, Merkel has said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced late on Thursday in Seoul that the issue of current account imbalances - which arise when a country has either a large surplus or deficit in international trade - will not be addressed by imposing fixed limits.